Happy Halloween, Natalia Arlovskaya!
by Midnightshadow001
Summary: While some kids were sitting in pumpkin patches, she was locked in her crush's coat closet dressed as a witch, when all she wanted to do was be with her crush in the first place. Things were messed for Natalia Arlovskaya. NataliaxAlfred AmericaXBelarus


Things were messed up for Natalia Arlovskaya.

She was supposed to be attending Alfred's Halloween party. You know, having a good time, pretending to chase Ivan around, watching all of her friends have fun.

But instead, she was dressed up like a witch and stuck in Alfred's coat closet.

It wasn't like she planned for it to happen! You want to know the truth?  
Natalia was completely in love with Alfred.

There. There's the truth. Totally embarrassing, isn't it? Out of all the people in the world; out of six billion people, she had to fall in love with Alfred. Even Toris would've been better! At least he wasn't obnoxious with hero complexes and married to a fast food restaurant! The American was a loud, nosy, oblivious, enthusiastic, cheerful, funny, handsome hero-

This was not helping.

But in his coat closet! Of all places! You want to know why? It all started at the beginning of the twentieth century, when she began falling in love with the American. She was horrified of herself honestly. Falling in love? With Alfred Jones? Of all people?

So she tried to convince herself she was still in love with her brother. She clung to him more, trying to shoo away the affections she had for Alfred by thinking she was still in love with Ivan. She had continued doing that until the nineties, when she went to live with Alfred.  
It was then that she couldn't deny it any longer. She was really in love with Alfred.

So after ninety years of denial, Natalia made a plan. She wasn't going to tell Alfred she liked him. Because if she did, he would be so freaked out he'd leave her behind to wallow in her tears and then drown.

Why? Because he probably thought she was insane! She wouldn't be surprised; every nation in the world thought she was an obsessive, insane woman. Why would Alfred want to date her?

So she pretended she was still obsessed with Ivan. She would cling to him in public, and when he wasn't around, she would still tell people about her love for him. Except she never said the name Ivan. She always said, "_Him_" because when she was saying how much she loved his hair and his eyes she wasn't talking about Ivan. She was talking about Alfred. But she led everyone to think she was still talking about Ivan.

How did that lead her to this point? Well…

All the nations got invitations from Alfred to his party. So everyone went in a costume, including Natalia. She had on a Lolita dress with black lace and white pearls embedded into her long dark blue skirts. Her bodice was like a corset; all tied up and what not, with long sleeves. Her hair, as usual, cascaded upon her shoulders like a platinum waterfall. On her head was a black witch hat, with little pearls sewn into shapes of stars. All she needed was a broom and she was all set.

When she arrived with Ivan, she knew she wouldn't be talking with Alfred, or dancing with him, or anything. She needed him, along with everyone else, to think she was in love with Ivan. So that meant she had to stay away from the American.

That hadn't worked so well.

Did you know he was obsessed with vampires?

Tons of literature came out over the past few years about vampires in his country. So it was no surprise that Alfred was dressed up like a vampire.

But my, was he a handsome vampire or what?

He had these plastic fangs stuck to his canines with silly putty, and a long black cape over his shoulders. But when Alfred answered the door, and Natalia saw a handsome, blond haired, blue eyed vampire grinning at her, she passed out.

No seriously. She almost fainted. Except Ivan caught her.

And then stuffed her in a closet.

So here she was, stuffed in Alfred's coat closet because her brother (who was supposedly dressed up like a Russian mafia boss, black suit, vodka bottle, pipe and all), stuffed her into a coat closet so she wouldn't follow him, and went off to talk with all of the other nations.

Problem was it was locked on the outside.

Alfred didn't notice Ivan locking her in the closet, for he had been too busy getting the guests behind Ivan inside. Like her sister for instance. And so she had been stuck in the coat closet for around three hours now, while people put their coats on the coat rack and ignored the muffled yells from behind the door to their right.

Things were really messed up for Natalia Arlovskaya.

Her sister was so lucky! She had heard Katyusha bounce over to Mattie, who, after a pep talk with Alfred, asked Katyusha to dance. The Ukrainian woman was wearing a Little Red Riding Hood outfit; one that left men like Francis drooling (or, in reality, running away from an overprotective Ivan). But Ivan knew Mattie wasn't like that. In fact, Matthew looked nice himself; dressed up like a pirate (using Arthur's old clothes). So there was her sister along with everyone else, having a good time with her true love.

The doorbell rang.

Great. More people. Back to the pleas of help. Natalia got back onto her feet (she took her dainty black heels off, no use using them in a coat closet) and began pounding the door again as Alfred walked over and invited guests back in. But the music was blasting so loud, she might as well have been a mouse. She heard Alfred walk away, and there she was, back to her fantasies about him while she was stuck in the closet.

She really was a romantic. Not a day went by when she fantasized about her true love. It used to be Ivan, but now it was Alfred, not that she would ever date him. She had to pretend to like Ivan, right? So what was the point of leaving the closet anyways if she had to go and pretend to be obsessed about the Russian, and not Alfred?  
Wait a minute. She didn't have to pretend to like Ivan.

She could just stop stalking Ivan. As long as people didn't know about her love for Alfred, then she would be fine if they knew she didn't like Ivan. That way, it would seem like she didn't like either one.

Natalia sighed, and sat down again. Placing her head in her hands, she gazed out into the darkness of the closet, with the only light coming from underneath the door and the two lamps beside her.

Wait. What lamps?

"AAAHH!"  
Natalia jumped backwards and her back hit the wall. In front of her were to huge red orbs, like lamps only…not. The lamp-orbs blinked.

"Who…w-who are you?"

Blink. Blink.

Okay, she wanted to get out of this coat closet. Because at the current moment, she was stuck inside with someone she didn't know.

Natalia suddenly felt something cool touch her face, as if the person was trying to see where she was in the darkness. She simply stood frozen for a moment as the person's tiny fingers retracted from her face, and then the lamp-orbs blinked again.

Oh. Wait.

Her fingers slid down her thighs as she tried to pull out her knife, but when she did the person caught her hand, preventing her from using the weapon. Slowly she put her arm down as she stared wide eyed at the two lamp-orbs, and before she knew it, she heard a word.

"…Tony."

…Tony?

Oh right! Tony!

"You are…you are Alfred's…erm…friend, right?" The cute little extraterrestrial nodded, the lamp-orbs going up and down. Natalia let out a sigh of relief. She remembered Tony from her stay with Alfred a long time ago. He was quiet, yet nice.

After realizing she was not in danger of a possible Francis attack, she gazed at the lamp-orbs again. "Tony…" She whispered, "What are those?"  
Blink.

Well, if he wasn't going to tell her, she would just find out. Natalia reached out a slender hand and softly poked one of the lamp-orbs. It immediately closed, followed by a rubbing noise and a softly murmured, "…Ow."

"Oh! I…I apologize, Tony." Poor thing. She just poked him in the eye!

Tony simply rubbed his eye for a moment before looking back at her.

"Forgive me. I did not know those were your eyes." How could she not know? Her mind must've been so occupied with Alfred that she had lost her common sense. Could this night get any worse? All she wanted was to be with Alfred, but instead she was locked in a coat closet by her brother and ended up poking Tony in the eye. Speaking of Tony, why was he here?

Truth be told, she remembered something about how Tony liked to observe human behavior. Alfred had said that at his parties, Tony liked to hide somewhere and watch as the humans interacted with each other. Then he took notes. So was he watching how humans greeted one another? Did that mean he had ever observed Natalia around Alfred? The thought embarrassed her.

"Tony…" Natalia said softly, "Could you…please help me get out of here?"

There was another nod, and then a shuffling noise was heard. All of a sudden, a green beam of light lit up the closet. Natalia could clearly see Tony as he focused the beam on the doorknob. The beam seemed to be coming from…his pen? He had a laser pen?

"Clink!" The doorknob rolled in between them as the door opened slightly. The both stared at the doorknob for a second before Natalia cleared her throat and said, "Thank you."  
Tony nodded. Natalia stood up and went for the door, turning back for a moment to look at the grey alien.

"…Are you coming?"  
Tony shook his head from side to side. Guess not.

"Well…thanks again, then…" With uncertainty, Natalia closed the door behind her as she made her way out to Alfred's backyard, where the party was.

It wasn't hard to see that everyone was having a ball. Mattie was literally ballroom dancing with her sister, even though an American pop song was playing. Francis, dressed as a pimp, was using the huge purple feather in his hat as a tissue as he watched Mattie and her sister (or maybe it was tears of pain after her brother, well, 'talked' to him). Arthur, dressed as a wizard (he had some kind of a wizard complex, seriously) was talking to Seychelles, who dressed up like Alice in Alice in wonderland. Over by the food table, Feliciano was putting out pizza in his Mario costume while Romano, in a Luigi costume, yelled at Antonio (who was dressed as a matador) for a comment made on his mustache. Ludwig, dressed up as a racecar driver (Gilbert said it would be 'cool' and in turn he went as a chicken), was standing with his brother by the punch, trying to calm down Feliciano. Elizaveta and Austria swirled by as they danced, both wearing some royal court costumes, with jewelry, ruffles and all, and behind them Natalia saw her brother terrorizing the Baltic nations, who went as a Mariachi band (they were supposedly helping out Antonio who was battling Gilbert for best dressed friends). Many other countries were having a great time; people danced, food was served, laughter and jokes and gossip were in the air, the music was blaring from speakers nearby…yet where was Alfred?  
Not…not that she cared. Because she just…wanted to know where he was…to avoid him. So no one thought she liked him.

That was a total lie.

Natalia went over to the food stand and began nibbling on a cookie. Well, it wouldn't hurt to look at a hot American vampire for a moment right? From far away? Where he wouldn't see her blushing so he could jump to conclusions and then tell everyone and then he would avoid her and she would lock herself in his coat closet with Tony and remain there playing with a laser pen for the rest of her life!

Wow. That was a positive outlook.

She glanced around a bit more, wondering where Alfred was, though not really wondering, though kind of- Oh, where was Alfred?

"Kiku!"

Natalia's eyes immediately glanced over by the speakers, where Kiku (in a samurai outfit) had been analyzing the manual that came with the sound system, and Alfred, vampire teeth and all, bounded over to his best friend with a huge smile on his face. "What's up?"  
"Pardon?" Kiku had to shout to get Alfred to hear him, "I cannot hear you over the music, Alfred-san!"  
"This party's rockin' isn't it? I'm so awesome at these kind of things!" Alfred had no clue what Kiku had said to him, but he was looking at everyone with pride. Kiku glanced around to, and though his eyes landed on Natalia, and watched her gaze at Alfred quietly, she had no idea what the Japanese man was planning.

"I think someone would like to see you, Alfred-san!"

"What? The bathroom's on the second floor, Kiku!" Alfred began dancing in place to some techno song, and after glancing at the manual once more, Kiku went and changed the song to a much slower, calmer tune.

"Whoo!- Hey! Who changed the music?" Alfred spun around, only to see that Kiku had taken the microphone and said rather shyly, "Um…w-w-would you all please find a partner for a slow dance?"

People immediately grabbed partners. Feliciano with Ludwig, Romano with Spain (after much grumbling), Lichtenstein (who was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz) with Toris (who was happy to get away from Ivan, who began dancing with a vodka bottle), and Francis with Arthur (who was yelling). Most other people waited nearby for a faster song or waited a few minutes before stealing someone's partner. Seychelles skipped over to where Alfred and Kiku were standing.

"_Oh no. Do not ask Alfred to dance!"_ Natalia nearly glared at the island nation, and after Kiku nodded, he turned to Alfred and whispered something to him, causing his eyes to dart immediately at Natalia, who quickly looked away. Kiku blushed and began leading Seychelles into a dance, while slowly, like slow-mo, Alfred began walking over toward his back door, where Natalia stood.

"_Oh no. He is coming towards me!"_

Every step struck more fear into her heart. She didn't know what she would do if he talked to her.

"_B-but it is good right? I-I mean, who really cares what other people think?"_

She did. She cared what Alfred thought. And he had his eyes fixed on her as he passed through the crowds of slow dancing people.

"_Alfred could find out. And then he could tell everyone. And then reject me in front of everyone. And then I will be laughed at."_

Maybe he was going towards the door. Maybe he forgot something inside. Maybe-

Who was she kidding? He was going to her.

"_Oh…"_ She just wanted to pull her hat over her head and pretend she was home, on her couch, watching Belarusian soap operas and eating bonbons and fantasizing about Alfred. You know, from like seven thousand miles away. Rather than four feet.

"Natalia…"

She took a deep breath and prepared for the rejection. She turned around and with a forcedly calm face she replied, "Hello, Alfred." She couldn't tear her eyes away, however, from the 'vampire'. How could anyone?

"Hey…" Alfred was blushing, and in an attempt to make things seem less embarrassing, he smiled cheerfully and said, "You look really pretty, Natalia."  
"T-thank you…" Though her heart was fluttering, she was really caught off guard. Who wouldn't be after thinking for ninety years the love of their life was going to reject them? She really thought he was going to call her insane and then leave. Natalia was so used to rejection; she dealt with it for as long as she could remember.

"Yeah…witches…are cool."

Man, way to sound weird Alfred! Said person began rubbing the back of his neck, glancing at the crowd of dancing people and frowning. Even if you were the home of the brave, it was not easy to ask a girl to dance. Especially since that girl loved her brother and probably had a knife on her somewhere.

"You," Natalia broke the silence, and Alfred gave her a sidelong glance, "look rather nice as well." Alfred, broke into a big goofy grin, causing Natalia's already flushed face to look even more pink. "Thanks, Nat!"  
"Do not call me that." It sounded too much like gnat.

"Right…" Alfred laughed uncertainly, "So…what'cha think of the party? Having fun?"

"…The party is nice." As for having fun, Natalia didn't think poking someone in the eye and being locked in a closet by her own brother counted.

"And you're having fun right? Cuz all of my guests have to have fun! Then the party's cool!" Alfred glanced at her expectantly, to which she sighed inwardly.

"It has been…interesting." More like crazy, but whatever.

"Sweet!" Alfred grinned, letting her see his vampire teeth. He knew Natalia was not one to show her emotions to people, so 'interesting' could actually mean something more like fun. Or at least, that's what Alfred imagined.

Kiku noticed the song was about to end, and Alfred still didn't take his hint. So he went over to the sound system again and put on another slow song for his friend. Alfred noticed this, and with another awkward laugh, he said, "So, Natalia…"  
"Hmm?" Oh no. He was going to reject her now. He was going to tell her to go back to her house and never talk to him again.

"Wanna dance?"  
…What?  
He asked her to dance! What was she going to do? If she danced with him people might think things! If she didn't she would feel terrible! And not only that but what if he was just trying to be nice, thinking she didn't get to dance with Ivan so he ought to be a nice host and make sure she wasn't left out? Her heart felt like it was a jackhammer as she turned red and looked away from Alfred.

"U-unless you're waiting for, like, Ivan or something, cuz then I'd totally understand, but it's just that y-you seem all alone and I really wanted to dance with you…?" It came out more like a question, but nonetheless, Alfred said it in a hurry, thinking the Belarusian was about to pull a knife on him. But instead, she was shocked.

He wanted to dance with her? Does that mean only her? And not just out of the kindness of his heart?  
_"No. He is just saying it to make me feel better…"_ Being rejected so many times in her life, she refused to believe him. But then again…

"_Natalia Arlovskaya, just do what feels right."_

Well, here goes everything.

"Well then, I will dance with you Alfred."  
"What?" He couldn't believe it, "Really?"

Natalia nodded, and before she knew it she was being led out into the crowd by Alfred, who was expressing how 'awesome' it was. She was going to dance with Alfred F. Jones. And by tomorrow, when she was boarding her plane, it would all be just a dream. Wasn't a song playing earlier by that name?

"Um…" They both stopped in the middle of the crowd and stared at each other, with blushes creeping onto their faces.

"Do you…know how to slow dance?" Alfred asked. Natalia nodded silently.

And then, slowly, Natalia's hands were on his shoulders and Alfred's hands were on her hips, drawing each other close. Talk about blushing! Natalia's face was like a cherry! She was so close to Alfred she could smell his cologne, see the blue sparkle in his eyes, and the rosy blush on his cheeks as well. They glanced away from each other, with Natalia's eyes landing on her sister and Matthew and Alfred's eyes on Kiku, who gave him a smile.

Katyusha seemed to be closing her eyes and resting her head on Matthew's chest, listening to his heartbeat, while Matthew rested his head on hers, his eyes closing as well. Both seemed to be awake though, swaying slowly to the music and smiling at the warmth of the other. They seemed so happy.

And that was when the thought hit her.

"_They are both in love. They will be with each other and be happy. I…I am so jealous, sister. You can really be in love and receive it as well…I can only pretend for two minutes of my life that Alfred loves me back." _Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, but she bit her tongue and held them back.  
She was strong. She was used to rejection. She was Natalia Arlovskaya, the cold-hearted, silent woman who did not care about anyone.

But she did care. Because after countless years and who knows how many years to come, she was only going to have two minutes in her life where she could pretend and almost even believe that the person she loved really loved her back. She was only going to have those two minutes of bliss.  
_"Only two minutes, so no tears. I want to remember happiness, not tears."_

So she glanced back at Alfred, who smiled warmly at her. Her heart soared, and there she was, in her bliss, pretended Alfred was in love with her and that that million megawatt smile, those sky blue eyes, that cheerful laugh were all directed at her.

Slowly, a smile appeared on her face.

He was so warm; they were so close that she could rest her head against his chest. She caught his gaze, with his blond hair falling in his face and that smile on that practically lit up when he saw her.

"You're really pretty when you smile, Natalia." He grinned, causing her to look away immediately and blush. Way to break the mood!

"Stop saying things." She muttered embarrassingly.  
"What do you mean?" Alfred continued to smile, "I really think you're pretty!"  
"You are just saying that to be polite."  
"No…" Natalia glanced up at him.

"No what?"  
"I really think that you look great when you're smiling. Seriously. You should smile more!"  
"Thank you." She still didn't look him in the eyes, but only when he spoke once more did she actually turn her gaze upon him.

"You know…" He began, "I only ever see you smile around Ivan. Which is okay, but there are lots of things to smile about. Like sunshine. And hamburgers. And your friends! Love isn't the only thing to smile about!-"

"Alfred…" She was so quiet she hardly heard herself, "I am not in love with my brother…"

"Huh?" Alfred looked confused for a moment. Natalia looked up at him, and she knew the bliss was wearing away. Her moment was ending.

"I…" With her eyes losing the smile, she murmured, "I do not love anyone…"  
"Oh…Don't worry…I'm sure someone will come along…"Alfred suddenly seemed so much closer. Natalia raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Like who, for instance?"  
"Like…A hero?"

"Pardon-?"

Suddenly he was really close, his face nearing Natalia's, and their eyes closing as they were about to-

"Woohoo! Let's party people! Kiku! Turn up the pop! We're doing this the awesome way, by yours truly, the awesome me!" Gilbert blasted a pop song, causing everyone to disperse and begin dancing like crazy. Alfred and Natalia immediately pulled away before anything could happen, looking everywhere but at each other. Gilbert just had to ruin the mood?  
"Well…erm…"  
"Um…"

They locked gazes for one moment, in which Alfred said, "You dance well."  
"You too."

Silence.  
"Well, I'm gonna go…see what Kiku is doing."  
"…Right."

As Alfred walked away, trying to calm down from the awkward situation, Natalia's mind crashed like a computer.

SO CLOSE. THEY WERE SO CLOSE. LITERALLY.

They were going to kiss! And right when they were going to Gilbert messed it all up! Even if Natalia knew that by tomorrow she would think it all a dream, she wanted it to end happily! But then again, her love life was never really, well, happy.

Gilbert was going down.

Natalia reached down to feel if there was a knife on her leg.

No knife?  
Oh, right. Tony.

Well, if she couldn't do that, the least she could to was go knock him unconscious and put him in Alfred's whale tank. Off she went, stomping towards Gilbert and practically biting her tongue in anger. He was going to be glad he wasn't a nation anymore by the time Natalia got through.  
"Gilbert." Her voice sounded cold and venomous, and sharp enough to slice through the air. Gilbert hadn't heard her, but he did notice her glaring at him, so he walked over to her with a smirk.  
"Hey, Natalia! Care to dance with the awesome me?"  
"No-AH!" Despite her efforts to wring her hands out of his grasp, the albino pulled her into a dance. She didn't see it, but Alfred was currently giving Gilbert a glare Natalia would've been proud of.

"So, didja come to thank me?"  
"Thank you? For what?" Her eyes narrowed viciously.

"For saving you from dancing with Mr. I-think-I'm-more-awesome-than-Gilbert-but-I'm-not."  
"Excuse me?"

"You know, Alfred? The guy that tries to steal the thunder of my awesomeness?" Gilbert spun her and pulled her back, despite the fact that people were dancing wildly around them and Natalia nearly got hit in the face by one of the other dancers. As soon as Natalia spun back up to Gilbert, she slapped him across the face.  
"OW!" He tumbled backwards, his feet dangerously nearing Alfred's pool.

"I cannot believe you would do that!"  
"You're insane! I was just trying to help you! You crazy little soviet-"

"Gilbert," By now everyone was listening as Natalia tried to control the anger in her voice, "If I were truly insane, then you would be soaking wet by now!"  
And with that, she rose up her leg and pushed Gilbert into the pool with her foot.

Everyone gasped as soon as Gilbert rose to the surface and flailed around, water and insults towards Natalia flying everywhere.

"I guess that proves that theory." Natalia hissed at Gilbert, and spun on her heel and marched into Alfred's house.

This was it. Natalia was going to be kicked out of the party. Alfred knew she was insane. Everyone knew she was insane. And why would Alfred want to be seen going out with an insane woman?  
The house was dark, since everyone was out back rather than inside. Natalia, however, didn't mind. She simply marched over to the coat closet, got her jacket, thanked Tony once more, and left Alfred's house.

This was it.

The dream was over. Now all she needed was a cab to get back to her hotel and she would pack up her bags and leave tomorrow. There was no point staying when she knew that her reputation of being a crazy woman was once again revived. No wonder Ivan didn't want her. She was crazy. No wonder Alfred was trying to be nice to her. She was just insane, and had been rejected one too many times. Alfred didn't like her. He pitied her.

Her sister was lucky. Katyusha was so, so lucky.

Whatever. She left her cell phone at the hotel since her costume didn't have any pockets, so she would just have to walk in the cold air of the October evening. It didn't bother her. It didn't bother her one bit, because she knew things were too good to be true. Walking at a brisk pace, she began her journey back to her hotel. Honestly, she didn't even know where it was. But maybe if she found a restaurant or something nearby, she could ask one of the waitresses or other locals. This was it.

"Natalia! Wait!"

No. It couldn't be Alfred. She was just dreaming at this point. She was insane, so it made sense that her mind would trick her into thinking Alfred was there.

But this was hard to believe, because he looked very real, walking up to her with his cheeks red from the cold October air and the lively blue eyes. He adjusted his glasses, and with concern he asked, "What was that back there? Gilbert told me you just went berserk and pushed him in!" So that was it. He wasn't coming back for her. Nice one Natalia, thinking like a lovesick girl. He was coming back for an explanation, because she got him angry.

"I apologize. I…I did not intend to ruin your party. Gilbert had just done something which angered me," Natalia sighed somewhat sadly, but resumed her steady tone, "Forgive me, Alfred. The party was nice, but I will be going home now. Thank you."

"Wait," Alfred grabbed her wrist as she turned, causing her to look back at him, "Why were you two fighting?"  
"None of your business." She snapped her wrist out of his hand and turned to avoid letting him see her blush. Alfred sighed. He knew she was stubborn and what not, but was one simple answer hard to give?

He grabbed her shoulder and completely spun her around.

"What? Let go of me Alfred!" The blond man withdrew his hands but still stared at her in silence. The Belarusian knew what was going to happen.

"It's my party, so I think I have a right to know."

What? He wasn't going to call her insane?

Natalia felt so relieved, she lost her focus on her words and accidentally let slip, "While we were dancing he changed the song so-ah!" Her hand immediately clamped her mouth shut while her eyes widened ever so slightly.  
"So? So what? Why did he change it?" Oh, why couldn't she keep her mouth shut? Why?

"…No reason." She nearly whispered.

"Natalia," His voice was firm and determined; she forgot he was sometimes like that, "Why?"

"…So I would not dance with you." Well, since she was going to live in a closet for the rest of her life, she might as well say it. By tomorrow she was going to be gone.

"…And that made you mad?" He sounded more curious than surprised.

"I…It was nice until he ruined it." Natalia blushed and looked down at the sidewalk. Couldn't he just call her crazy and let her leave?  
"So…um…you enjoyed that? Dancing, I mean…?" Wow, was it hot outside? The sky looks pretty interesting, huh Alfred? He rubbed the back of his head like he usually did whenever he was nervous and looked at the stars, waiting for Natalia's answer.

"Well, yes, dancing was enjoyable…not with Gilbert, though…" She murmured under her breath. Even though she could see her breath, it was not cold anymore. They stood blushing and looking away from each other when Natalia eventually broke the silence.

"I-I will go now. Thank you for inviting me, Alfred-"

"Hey!" Before she could even turn around and look at something other than the American, said person finally looked at her and asked, "Um…wanna dance again?"

Natalia's face lit up like a Christmas bulb. Alfred didn't think she was insane. He wanted to dance again. If he really didn't like her, he'd have let her walk.

"T-there's no music, Alfred."  
Alfred began laughing.

What was so funny? Oh, Natalia knew. It was a joke. It was all a joke.  
But before she could yell or turn away and cry all the way back to the hotel, she was suddenly very close to Alfred, who had pulled her into a slow dance and laughed that hero laugh of his. It made her nearly smile and cry at the same time. Nearly. She was just happy that it wasn't a joke.

Alfred smiled his famous smile, the cheerful one that everyone seemed to adore.  
"You don't need music to dance, Natalia!"

They spun around slowly, and while Alfred had been laughing, Natalia kept turning pinker. This was a dream. It had to be. She was crazy right?  
That thought disappeared as Alfred's smile came into view. As they kept dancing, they slowly moved under a streetlamp, and under the light they both gazed at each other, blushing at their closeness and the silence between them. Soon the dance slowly came to a stop, and they just stood in their dancing position and just stared at each other. The music from the party could vaguely be heard, though the silence was broken as Alfred asked softly, "So…want a hero?"  
Natalia could've fainted. Could have. But instead she swallowed her surprise and blushed.

"A hero? I thought you were a vampire." Alfred grinned as their faces neared each other. With a whisper he replied, "Maybe I'm both…Why don't you choose?"  
Everything; all those thoughts about how he could reject her and how all this could be a dream and how she could be imagining this because she was insane flew away. Natalia Arlovskaya was kissing Alfred Jones under a streetlamp in a witch costume and it felt completely _real._

There were fireworks exploding behind her eyes as she kissed the American. Her whole body felt completely warm as he pulled her closer, and she could smell the amazing cologne and taste his lips; hamburgers and cocoa cola. In turn, Alfred could definitely taste some of the chocolate and vanilla of the Oreo Natalia munched on earlier. As he tried to increase the kiss with her, she pulled away, earning a questioning look from him.

"I choose the hero. It will be easier to kiss you when you are not wearing those fangs." They smiled at each other and pulled back for another kiss.

She wasn't crazy. Even as all the nations filed out of Alfred's house to see a vampire kissing a witch by the streetlight, Natalia realized it really didn't matter what all the other nations thought. All she cared about was kissing Alfred. Well, making sure he took out the fangs, and then kissing him.

Alfred pulled apart from her as they both gulped in the cold air. Ignoring the catcalls and whistles from the crowd of nations, Alfred said breathlessly, "I…I love you."

If it was a dream, it was the best dream ever. But it wasn't, and that was even better.

"I love you too…" Natalia replied as she gulped for air. They smiled at each other when out of nowhere, a shout was heard.

"Whatever! You're still not as awesome as me!"  
Natalia glared at Gilbert for a moment before Alfred gripped her chin, making her look back at him. With a smirk he murmured, "Don't worry about him. Besides, it's my turn to throw him in the pool."

Natalia smiled and pulled him in for another kiss.

Getting locked in a closet by her brother, eating an Oreo, pushing Gilbert into a pool, and hearing Alfred say, "I love you," and knowing it wasn't a dream; this was the best night ever.

Especially since she got to kiss Alfred without the fangs later.

**The end! Happy Halloween everyone!**

**This is an encouragement fic! I encourage more people to write AmeBela stories because I think a lot of people like them but there just aren't enough! So hopefully this may inspire you! **

**Sorry it took me forever to get back on here. I've been really busy. I only just managed to get this one done. Anyone notice the reference to my other AmeBela fic? If you do, you get a free cookie! XD Thanks for your comments everyone!**


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